Taking stock of the Patriots and Texans

Ted BartlettDec 11, 2012 2:30 PM

Happy Tuesday, friends. After the shellacking that the Patriots put on the Texans last night, it’s time to take stock of both teams, since it’s likely that the Broncos will play at least one of them in the playoffs, and maybe both.

There were some noticeable things on display in the game that will be of interest to us in the coming weeks.

Here are five for each team:

Patriots

* The Patriots have the best point differential in the NFL, and that tends to indicate who the best teams are. You can have an outlier game sometimes, like the Seattle-Arizona game Sunday, that can give a somewhat misleading picture of cumulative differential. By and large, though, it tells the story of quality in a season.

As Doug noted this morning, the Patriots’ losses have been very close, and their wins haven’t been. I think they served notice pretty clearly last night, in a qualitative sense, that they’re the team to beat across the whole NFL, but the point differential has been telling that story virtually all season.

* New England greatly improved their defense with the acquisition of CB Aqib Talib. Historically, they’ve liked to use their best CB on the opponent’s number-two WR, and then double the best WR with a safety. What I saw last night was the Patriots using Talib one-on-one with Andre Johnson, and he did a nice job. The box score shows eight catches for 95 yards, but one of them was a 25-yarder on a short crossing route, against zone coverage. The rest of them were pretty un-impactful.

When a defense can feel pretty comfortable playing man against a number-one WR, it frees them up to scheme-defend the other less-threatening receivers. We’ve seen this with the Broncos and Champ Bailey this year, and the Patriots can now do it too.

* I said this earlier in the season, but there’s no question that New England’s offense is the best in the NFL. It’s the best scheme, with the best players, and the most consistent execution. In fact, I would say that it’s the best one I’ve seen since the 2007 Patriots went undefeated, and that offense was pretty much the best one ever.

I know a lot of people here like to hate Josh McDaniels personally, and I understand why, but if you’re going to try to make the case that he’s not a good football coach, you’re just wrong. When he has some weapons to work with, nobody in the NFL does a better job of mixing up plays and attacking specific matchups.

The scheme in New England right now is miles ahead of where it was last season under Bill O’Brien, and it’s better than what was used in 2007 (under McDaniels) too. All it’s missing is Randy Moss in his prime, and that’s largely mitigated by New England’s ability to play up-tempo.

The Patriots are using an absurd mix of personnel groupings and formations, way beyond what anybody else in the NFL is doing. Their insistence on only acquiring smart players allows them to dominate the mental game, and to always have everybody on the same page, despite a million subtle changes, which are communicated, understood, and adopted by eleven guys on offense within a few seconds.

Defenses basically have no time to recognize subtle changes in offensive line splits, or the depth of the running backs, or the location of Aaron Hernandez, and adjust to optimally defend what the offense is going to do. The old adage is that the offense knows what it’s doing, and that’s it’s advantage over the defense. The Patriots compound that advantage by lining up and snapping the ball so quickly that the defense can’t even begin to figure out what’s coming.

To me, the only way to compete with the Patriots offense is to just line up, try to maintain your run fits, and cover the guys you’re supposed to cover. Exotic stuff just isn’t going to work, and good luck playing it straight, even if that’s the right(est) answer.

* The Patriots offensive line is really mashing defensive fronts in the running game, and their primary RBs Stevan Ridley and Shane Vereen complement each other well. Ridley, in particular, is an impressive player who was lost in the college name recognition shuffle a bit among all the talent at LSU. The running game is better than it’s been since New England had Corey Dillon, and was winning Super Bowls.

The best way to stop any offense is to contain their run game on early downs, and force them into third-and-long. I’ll be curious to see how well San Francisco does at that next week, because I think they may be the team most capable of stopping the Patriots run game, while staying decently sound against play action.

* The Foxboro home field advantage is the best in the NFL at this point, in my opinion. That crowd was loud and engaged, and it clearly rattled Houston, as the wheels were starting to fall off. The Texans looked frenetic and panicked much of the time, and a crowd that’s been hardened by a lot of big games was a big part of that.

Houston

* Houston is better than they looked last night, but they have a pretty serious issue in pass defense. The Packers, Patriots, and Broncos have all lit them up through the air, and made their defense look like it’s not good enough to win a Super Bowl with. I think they miss Brian Cushing a lot in underneath coverage, and that teams know that Kareem Jackson isn’t good. They go after him constantly, as the Broncos did with Eric Decker.

* The Texans aren’t built to play from behind. They want to throw it deep off of play action, that they sell really well by having a dangerous running game. When the threat of the run isn’t there, the Texans become a below-average passing team.

Matt Schaub is an excellent and precise executor within the run-pass scheme, but he lacks elite attributes to dominate with his pure throwing, and the only receiver the Texans have who can win contested matchups is Andre Johnson. I think he’s heading into a bit of a decline phase, too. If you make Houston one-dimensional by going up a couple scores early, the difference is dramatic.

* I didn’t feel like Houston competed well in any phase of the game. They were much less physical than the Patriots, and they played with less urgency. Really early in the game, it seemed like they had some “Here we go again” to them. They really reacted like a bully who gets socked in the mouth, a lot like the Chargers tend to. It will be interesting to see if that continues, but since it’s on film, I expect other teams to try to physically outhit them, and see if they wilt so easily.

* J.J. Watt is an excellent player, but the legend of him has gotten bigger than his performance on the field. He didn’t show very much last night, beyond a couple hits on Tom Brady after he’d let a completion go, and I didn’t think very highly of Watt’s effort later in the game, despite his obvious attributes: you know, he’s a blue-collar, hard-working, smart, lunch-pail kind of guy.

* I normally consider Texans safeties Glover Quin and Danieal Manning to be pretty good players, but Brady kicked their butts last night. The long Brandon Lloyd TD was a massive coverage bust by Quin, who had bit on a play-fake. Johnathan Joseph was playing outside technique as Lloyd ran freely to the post, and no safety help came.

It should be clear that I think the Patriots are a good deal better than the Texans, and that last night’s result was no fluke. I think it would happen eight out of ten times on a neutral field. We should be rooting for the 49ers next week, but like Doug, I don’t see a first-year starting QB going into Foxboro and winning. In any event, the Broncos need to keep winning out.

1. I’m not in the arguing business, I’m in the saying what I think business.
2. I get my information from my eyes.

It's funny how this thread can't stay on subject. The article here mentions McDaniels' ability as a COACH, not a manager or a person who selects personnel. As a COACH, McDaniels has not shown the ability to operate effectively outside of Belichik's direct supervision.

I imagine the personnel selections (which honestly weren't anything amazing...they were just good) are brought up to defend him. But, that doesn't prove his ability to COACH a team.

Jeez.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-12 08:46:58

If your using Shanny as a benchmark for McD's personnel moves then that already tells the real story. McD was bad in that area. He may have been better than Shanny, but that didn't make what he did good by default. DT, Decker, and Bruton are the only ones who have reached the expectations of their draft slot. Not saying the others who contribute are bad players. We aren't discussing their ability but rather McD's ability in a GMing capacity. He did do better in FA, but not great.

McD was in over his head and was not ready to be a HC. He needed to be humbled a bit, and was. His next venture into HCing should be more successful. But lets not kid ourselves, his time in Denver was a failure. He gave us the worst season in decades, many terrible personnel moves, and making the whole franchise look bad in Spygate West.

Also Chibronx, way to be a hypocrite:"All of the lazy name-calling makes me want to give the guy every benefit of the doubt, because it confirms the impression that his critics are petulant children"

Labeling all his critics are petulant children is lazy name calling as well. I am a critic of him because he failed. I don't think he is a terrible coach, I don't think he is a terrible person. I do think however, that he wasn't ready for the HC position, and that manifested as failure in the end.

Posted by Gentleman_Bronco on 2012-12-12 05:06:53

Great question!

Posted by John Hilton on 2012-12-11 23:30:43

Yeah, OOYE! Love it, dude.

Posted by TJ Johnson on 2012-12-11 21:28:39

Ted,You raise a couple of points that have gotten me thinking.Though I wasn't especially surprised that NE beat Houston rather significantly, I, like you, noticed the degree to which the NE offense could almost flex at will to dominate the Texans' defense. That McD could and should get kudos for it is not something I resist (IMO it would be idiotic to do so - but there is a lot of idiosy in the world - and, unfortunately, also on this site).However, more to the point, your preference for defences to play them pretty straight up, with few complicated wrinkles (which would be difficult to match with the quick diagnosis required for their rather efficient yet varied offensive formations and indicators) has me thinking that the last couple of Bronco games have been previews of the intent of the Broncos to be able to deal with the NE style of "no-huddle" yet varied defense. They've been using nickel and other more specializede packages in situations that might indicate something more basis, IMO, in order to counter the kind of offense that NE is displaying.As a side note, as you have indicated, what they do requires quick-witted players. I always thought that McD, while in Denver, envisioned such a team, but also believed that it would require a long term overhaul, which he was never given the time or support for. I agree with the evaluation that he occasionally was attracted to what I call "cookies" - i.e. Tebow, Moreno, etc. - but that his underlying philosophy was to acquire players who were quick-witted with as much ability as he could muster (i.e. Walton, Ayers, etc).I'd like the discussion of the comparison of Denver to NE not be distracted by the rather insipid evaluations of the "MHS" (McDaniel Hate Squad), ironically mostly composed of the former TASPS (Tebow Adoration Police Squad), whose reaction to a perceived inflated ego on the part of McD (an ego noticeably inferior to that of his major critics - i.e. Woody Paige, and posters like Elway is God, et alle - has distracted from the fact that, while inexperienced in some areas of HC competency (consistent quality drafting), had some qualities of competency (OC development and strateby) that are remarkable. And that his potential as a winning coach, even winning head coach is not especially meager.

That being said, I think the conslucion to this season could be interesting.You IMO are correct in positing that the road to the Super Bowl goes through NE.The Broncos can reasonably expect a 3rd or 4th seeding, not necessarily a bad thing (1st round bye teams have not consistently fared well). But it does mean that they will have to face two oppenents to get to the superbowl, almost assuredly one of them being NE. At that point the question is whether or not they can challenge a team that has put in place many pieces that are difficult to beat, including a brilliant OC. I think, part of the recent strategy has been to anticipate games against teams like NE, Atlanta and San Francisco. It will be interesting to see it play out.

Posted by ivanthenotsobad on 2012-12-11 21:13:29

Wonder if the source in the Broncos that leaked to the press that McD tried to trade for Cassel was Jay Cutler.

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 20:57:27

"McD was dead in Denver when he came across as a frat boy at his opening presser and offended the guys that buy ink by the barrel."

Woody Paige to McD: "Ditch the hoodie, Josh. Be your own man." Because the best way to prove you are your own man is to do what Woody tells you. What an assclown.

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 20:55:26

"if McD had stayed in Denver, would he have taken Von Miller with the 2nd pick?"Don't know, don't care. There's nothing to base a guess on.

"remember that he wanted Cassel so badly he would have traded Cutler for him"So says Jay Cutler and Bus Cook, and repeated by the media.

"Wen he did trade Cutler, he said Orton was his number one choice of all the QBs he had looked at"His number one choice of all QBs that would have been part of the trade. I'm sure he would have gladly traded Cutler for Aaron Rodgers. Washington would have given more draft picks than Chicago, and sent Jason Campbell.

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 20:52:59

I think the Broncos are playing well, but our three losses were to the three hardest teams on the schedule (Texans, Patriots, Falcons). We have been playing just as weak of a schedule since then so it isn't fair to say we are great but they had an easy schedule.

Posted by John Hilton on 2012-12-11 20:22:45

Royalwithcheese Yeah, I think rushing 3 or 4, and dropping 7 or 8 into coverage is the best answer. In order to do that, though, you have to stop the run pretty effectively with 7 men. That's the tough part.

I personally don't think that Welker will be a target of the Broncos. He'll cost a lot of money, because as Pat Kirwan said on the radio tonight, once you franchise a player, he always thinks he's worth that much, and that any long-term deal has to average that amount. That's going to be too rich for the Broncos at a position that isn't a need area.

Posted by Ted Bartlett on 2012-12-11 20:00:14

The tempo is a major thing, and I think they're using Hernandez better than ever. What I'm seeing though, is that they're really varying their formations within the same personnel groupings. That allows them to play the fast tempo, and still create mismatches. Many of the differences are subtle, like having a WR line up at the top of the numbers to create room on the slant, or having him align inside the numbers to facilitate the speed out.

It's all really well-considered, and the team executes it. You'd think that playing one-word tempo stuff would force you to simplify the offense, but with the Patriots, they've maintained a lot of variety.

Posted by Ted Bartlett on 2012-12-11 19:48:20

I think the continuation of the ""McD is an awful personnel guy" is hilarious is light of the fact that many McD guys are contributing heavily to the Broncos' current run, and, more importantly, Cutler/Marshall continue to be pretty but completely ineffective in Chicago, while Hillis being Hillis-- which got his ass traded in the first place-- completely deflated his career. So McD missed on a few draft picks. Don't look now, but so has Elway, as did Shanahan, as did Reeves, as does Belichick, and Harbaugh, and Newsome, etc, etc, etc.

McD was dead in Denver when he came across as a frat boy at his opening presser and offended the guys that buy ink by the barrel. Cutler was the kill shot. He was dead before he got out of the gate.

Posted by drewthorn on 2012-12-11 19:36:19

A couple of things: if McD had stayed in Denver, would he have taken Von Miller with the 2nd pick? Given his history, I'm guessing not - he may have taken Dareus, or A.J. Green, or Patrick Peterson (to replace Champ), or he might even have traded down, and not gotten a top player, and wasted the extra picks as well. In any case, Denver probably would not have taken Miller (in my opinion, looking at McD's personnel moves).

He did not have a feeling for choosing good players (remember that he wanted Cassel so badly he would have traded Cutler for him, and when he did trade Cutler, he said Orton was his number one choice of all the QBs he had looked at).And don't forget that he was running Champ out of town - he pulled a contract offer, and was letting him go to free agency.The team was getting worse every year under McD, and I don't see that it would have gotten better anytime soon.

Posted by billyricky on 2012-12-11 19:24:07

"The scheme in New England right now is miles ahead of where it was last season under Bill O’Brien"

Ted - any chance you can elaborate on this a bit? I know you did a little in your post, but what do you think is the main scheme advantage over last season? The tempo? Or is there something else I haven't noticed? Not arguing btw, I just meant to my lesser-trained eye it seems like last years O with a better running game + tempo. Curious if there's something more subtle schematically that I haven't noticed.

Posted by scooterf17 on 2012-12-11 19:11:48

"we could go on forever about his free-agency moves & trades/trade-attempts."

Patriot TradesPatriots to Denver: Le Kevin Smith, 7th rounder 2010Smith spent 2009 with the Broncos, was cut in 2010, resigned midseason, cut late season. Retired from football after 2010 with neck injury, debatable if another team would have signed him anywayDenver to Patriots: 5th rounderPatriots to Denver: Russ Hochstein with Broncos 2009-2011, signed and cut by Arizona 2012, now with Kansas CityDenver to Patriots: 2010 7th rounder aquired in Le Kevin Smith tradeSo, Hochstein and Smith for a 5th rounderPatriots to Denver: Lawrence Maroney (who Shanahan would have drafted in 2006), 2011 6th rounderDenver to Patriots: 2011 4th rounder

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 18:43:45

Certainly was an impressive showing by New England.Over and over again, it seemed like the Houston defense was just watching the game.Hopefully, the Broncos are not as easily fooled when our turn comes.

Posted by Alaskan on 2012-12-11 18:35:10

Chi, we can simply say what we want. Whether something is 'silly' or not is a matter of individual opinion. I'm not going to judge one way or the other on that one. I don't see the 'silliness'. There is a lot of name calling/nicknames that float around here. I constantly see "Sexy Rexy", but I rarely see anyone come to his rescue.

My reply post to yours was in response to your comment that McDaniels critics are petulant. So, I posted the 'facts' as I see them, and I do believe, although I'm a McDaniels critic, I wasn't being petulant.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-11 18:10:43

McDaniel's is just trying to win a mother f%$#ing game!

Posted by OutOfYourElement on 2012-12-11 18:05:01

The pats are a well oiled offensive machine, no doubt about it. I'm thinking about the hernandez TD where tom flicked him the ball before the D had time to react. Their formations were all over the place.

Surprising that Bellichick didn't pull any dick moves like having Brady punt the football.

I think Watt did a good job last night, considering the texans offense did not come to play.

Posted by WrathofChakaKhan on 2012-12-11 18:04:34

JT, what on earth does the first amendment have to do with somebody having silly ideas? It gets dragged into more conversations in which it doesn't belong than does..... Josh McDaniels.

Posted by Chibronx on 2012-12-11 18:01:09

Being great at X's and O's and being a leader of men are two different things. McD is yet to prove he can be the latter, which is not to say he will never be the latter, we all grow and change.

Posted by I_shower_naked on 2012-12-11 17:28:55

Well, A R, guys like me admittedly have faults, so I'm not going to criticize a few minor issues of others.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-11 17:25:00

Chibronx:

I feel like you're taking this too seriously. DT & Decker were obviously very good pickups. JD Walton & Beadles aren't awful, but they're not exactly all-pros either. Ayers is an important part of the rotation on the D-line, but was he a good value pick? You can answer that for yourself...I already have my opinion.

That being said, a monkey could throw darts at draftboard & come up with the same number of successful players that McD did over two years.Of course, we could got on forever about his free-agency moves & trades/trade-attempts. Like I said, the man is a very good OC with Tom Brady...much like Charlie Weiss was a very good OC, with Tom Brady.

Also, maybe you should try saying Belicheat out-loud...it's really fun to say! Kind of just rolls of the tounge, and it's true!

Posted by ElwayIsGod7 on 2012-12-11 17:20:34

"everyone expresses themselves in different manners."

True. As for myself, I outgrew the middle school locker room.

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 17:19:01

"McD is a good OC...when he has Tom Brady."

A coach's ability and the skill of his players are two different things. For example, WR screens have their place in the playbook. That Denver couldn't run a WR screen worth a dam isn't proof of the poor quality of scheming and playcalling.

Posted by A R on 2012-12-11 17:17:38

46...I think that there are probably about 2 or 3 teams that have as much chance beating these Broncos as they do losing to them. And, I'd bet there are 2 or more teams (and not the same ones) that would match up well against the Patsies.

All I'm saying is that both the Broncos and the Patsies have benefited from playing some marginal teams of late. The real deal will be the off-season, where the best play the best (hopefully).

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-11 17:06:53

Jets are nothing special, but they are better than the Chiefs who we barely scraped by, the Texans are a pretty good team too.I'm not going to hack on the Pats, they are the only team who I think can beat us. Brady is tough to beat in Foxborough.

Posted by 46n2ahead on 2012-12-11 16:59:56

Well, Chibronx, everyone expresses themselves in different manners. And, in the land of free speech, it's their right.

Also, let's remember:

Belichik got caught cheating.

McDaniels got caught cheating.

Head coaches are in charge of managing the staff and the team to wins, of which McDaniels posted a very poor record. If McDaniels strengths were player selection, he should've been GM, not the coach.

He posted all of 2 wins as offensive coordinator of one of the least productive offenses (St. Louis).

He posts a winning record only when he works for Belichik.

Belechik was in the playoffs without McDaniels as offensive coordinator for the season.

Ok at player selection? Eh, sort of. He made huge mistakes, too. Definitely lousy at coaching when he's not under Belichik's wing. Lousy at player relations management.

Was that petulant?

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-11 16:53:03

Is your name really "Rhune Kincaid"? If so, kudos to your parents, because that totally sounds like the civilian alias of a bad-ass crime-fighting superhero.

I don't know if you're in character, ElwayIsGod, but I've been meaning to say:

The McEpithets make you look foolish. They're not clever. Turd isn't clever. Mc-is only clever as an 80s lefty slam of corporatization, which is not you mean, and is incredibly dated. McDumba$$? Not funny. McDestroyerOfFranchises? Singularly inarticulate.

By the way, do you like Demaryius Thomas, or Eric Decker, or Zane Beadles, or JD Walton, or Robert Ayers? Your complaint about talent boils down to the 2009 draft. Get over it.

All of the lazy name-calling makes me want to give the guy every benefit of the doubt, because it confirms the impression that his critics are petulant children.

Oh and BeliCHEAT? Zing. You really nailed him. Word play is so awesumz.

Posted by Chibronx on 2012-12-11 16:37:40

"I feel as though Josh McDaniels playcalling in Denver was quite good. McDaniels got a lot out of Kyle Orton despite Orton's limitations. If McDaniels would have focused mainly on the offensive side of the ball, let Mike Nolan do his thing on defense, and if he had a strong GM for personnel matters, his tenure wouldn't have gone so badly in my opinion."

And if the Queen had balls she'd be King!

Maybe McD was humbled by his extraordinary failure in Denver, and will learn to treat people with respect in the future & to delegate more responsibility. Until then, he's just another failed Belicheat disciple who was responsible for arguably the worst season in Bronco history.

Posted by ElwayIsGod7 on 2012-12-11 16:31:58

I think that's one thing I'd like to see these last few games (and into the post-season): a major turn-around in the season's turnover ratio for the Broncos. They've done ok these past 8 games, but their opponents haven't been that great.

Posted by John Tomasik on 2012-12-11 16:28:22

It might not look good for the 49ers to win against the Patriots, but I think it's more likely than a Texans win was ever going to be.

Posted by Rhune Kincaid on 2012-12-11 16:26:52

Wes Welker in a Broncos uniform would be amazing.

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2012-12-11 16:16:49

The key to playing New England is not to turn the ball over first and foremost. New England capitalizes on turnovers so well, it's impossible for opposing teams to overcome.

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2012-12-11 16:15:24

Josh is a fine OC but Belichick and Brady make everyone in that organization look good, often to a fault.

Posted by atomiccityblues on 2012-12-11 16:12:57

I feel as though McDaniels playcalling in Denver was quite good. McDaniels got a lot out of Orton despite Orton's limitations. If McDaniels would have focused mainly on the offensive side of the ball, let Mike Nolan do his thing on defense, and if he had a strong GM for personnel matters, his tenure wouldn't have gone so badly in my opinion.

Posted by RSH, Esq. on 2012-12-11 16:10:48

OK!

McD is a good OC...when he has Tom Brady.

HOWEVER, McTurd is an awful head-coach, an awful gm-wannabe evaluator of talent, and he treats his coworkers like garbage. But he's really really good as an OC with Tom Brady.

Posted by ElwayIsGod7 on 2012-12-11 15:50:22

Not shocked the Pats won big. But I was shocked that the Texans offense was so punchless. The Pats looked like they set up their D to play the run as aggressively as they could and simultaneously told their CBs and Safeties to not even look in at the run game. For the most part, I thought NE played 3-4, 2 deep man underneath with some zone stuff from time to time and they tasked everyone not covering to blitz the run or pass. And they dominated. The Broncos have better defensive personnel outside of Wilfork, so that was good to see. I didn't understand why Houston didn't make the adjustment early-on to simply check it down the RBs all day because they were wide open on just about every play I remember.

The Pats offense was insane last night. It was scary. They don't really have a weakness but they do get into funks. It seems to me like, as Ted says, you should just play straight up, not try anything cute and keep your eyes on their huddle. You just have to hope you can withstand their first 3 or 4 possessions and not give up more than 10-13 points and, at the same time, get yourself onto the scoreboard.

Posted by Super7 on 2012-12-11 15:45:44

As usual, Ted nailed it. The Pats offense is the most potent in the league, and it's not even close.

Two questions: first, I seem to remember Sexy Rexy frustrating Brady and Co. by rushing three, dropping 8 and keeping everything in front of them. Would this be something worth exploring for the Broncos, with Von, Wolfe/Vick and Elvis rushing, Woodyard, Brooking, DJ and Trevathan (or maybe even Leonard) at LB at Moore and Adams playing two-deep coverage? Force the Pats to go to three WRs, take out Brooking for Carter?

Second question: Ted mentioned how intelligent everyone on that Pats offense is. One of their key cogs, Welker, is headed for free agency. Who here thinks the Broncos could make a run at him? Strengthen the Broncos and weaken the Pats at the same time. And the Broncos have a lot of $$ (M. Willis, Porter, DJ and Mays-- assuming they're released) coming off the books...

Posted by Royalwithcheese on 2012-12-11 15:42:31

I'll have to slightly disagree on Watt. There was a 2-series stretch where he hurried and hit Brady on seemingly every play.

I would love to see the figures on how many pressures/hurries (are those the same thing?) he had in that game.

I thought he was very impressive rushing the passer, and if it was anyone but Brady getting rid of the ball quickly when he saw JJ coming, Watt could have had a handful of sacks. He was not quite so impressive in the run game, where he was regularly out of position. That NE line does a really great job at run blocking though. Also, Watt made that great play where he tracked back downfield and jarred the ball loose at around the 5, unfortunately for him the ball rolled into the end zone and straight to B. Lloyd for his second touchdown.

There was one play where Welker actually started running a route and came back, Hernandez ran out like it was a TE screen and he turned into a blocker...so well designed...

Posted by chantech on 2012-12-11 15:14:04

The offensive scheme last night was a thing of beauty. What struck me the most was how many plays looked almost identical at the start - a great example was that Texan LB who blew right past Brady to tackle the running back even though Brady had the ball. It was clear the Texans were guessing all night long and you can't play defense that way.

Posted by John Hilton on 2012-12-11 15:05:46

Waits for McDaniels haters to come out...

Posted by chantech on 2012-12-11 15:04:36

I agree with you on the 8/10 comment, if only because the Texans D is really hurting w/o Cushing. But I think last night's game was so lopsided because of the phantom PI that allowed NE to convert that 3rd and long on their third touchdown drive. My roommate looked at me when it happened and just said, "game." He was right.